Construction helps fuel April jobs gains in Nevada
Job growth in Nevada surged in April, led by gains in construction and in the employment category that includes retail.
Employers increased the state’s jobs base by 2.6 percent year over year in the month, well ahead of a national job-formation rate of 1.9 percent in the same period, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Wednesday.
Payrolls grew by 32,900 jobs year to year, to a statewide total of 1.35 million.
It was the 64th straight month of statewide job growth.
As it has for more than a year, construction led the way in job formation, with a growth rate of 9.3 percent, or 6,100 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities, a combined category that includes retail, saw job growth of 3.9 percent, or 9,100 jobs.
The gains helped push Nevada’s unemployment rate down to 5.8 percent, compared with 6.9 percent in April 2015. Joblessness was unchanged from March to April.
An expanding statewide labor pool cancelled out some of the job gains, because more Nevadans were hunting for work in April. The labor force expanded by 1 percent, or 13,600 people, year over year.
Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.
